6/8/13 Verden in Germany

After a 4 hour drive we arrived in Verden, 1 hour drive north of Hanover. This is the star attraction for Andrew & from tomorrow he will be immersed in his passion...horses. The Hanoverian Society hold elite auctions, Dressage Championships etc. for a week at this time of year & the town has a long & proud horse history.

In the mid 1600's Verden became a garrison town for cavalries & in the 1930's the expression 'Rider's Town' was born.

 The village is very quaint & we had a leisurely stroll through the Main Street.

 

A water feature & I think a doggy watering station too.

I know...we're pigs...we couldn't help ourselves, but in our defence we did try & walk it off wandering around Verden. 

On the way back to the Motorhome we came across these extremely rare birds during what was obviously a courting dance. Yes, the illusive & beautiful Tyre Swan...& a mated pair to boot. We stayed very still so that we didn't scare them off & I was fortunate enough to capture them using the close-up on my camera. What a rare treat this was!

So now we are heading to our next campsite & that can always be either an interesting, scary or surprising event. On the way we passed fields of flowers...so what do you think they are...

Times up...they're Gladioli's...1'000's of them.

So this campsite falls into the surprise category...& they serve traditional home cooking which we were happy to sample. While waiting, our entertainment was a bumblebee busy gathering pollen in the late afternoon sun.

My close-up of the swans gave me heart to try again & the little bumblebee gave me the opportunity...isn't he cool?

This is dinner - plus my drink, 4 beers & 2 of the biggest glasses of red wine you have ever seen in your life for the boys. The total for this wonderful meal was $47...unbelievable!